


traumatic nightmares and the resulting bonding- an angsty dia strider short story

by Nightmaretyrantvantas



Series: Homestuck au stories and shenanigans [2]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: Blood, Character Death, Homestuck AU, Hurt and comfort, Implied Character Death, Implied Torture, Night Terrors, Other, Sadstuck, descriptions of violence, epilouges au, homestuck angst, homestuck ocs, implied dirkjake mostly platonic and recovering dirkjake, implied gore, not current epilouges, poor dia cant get a break from her trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-26
Updated: 2019-11-26
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:00:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21569554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nightmaretyrantvantas/pseuds/Nightmaretyrantvantas
Summary: I’m writing this as a way to get out of the angst mood I’ve been in recently and if you wanna wait for a more fluffy thing to come out? I dont blame you or have anything against you skipping over this particular oneshot. I will tell you now I dont get really descriptive, but I do try to describe it enough to make it clear whats happened and going on. Thats why I put the warnings at the very top as well as in the tags so anyone sensitive to those is fully warned. Now for anyone reading beyond this I hope youre ready for a bit of a wild rideAnd I swear this ends happy(because I dont write pure angst with no good conclusions often)So this is a bonding fic between Dirk, Hal, and Dia with some good ol recovering platonic Dirkjake thats present but not the main focusBuckle in guys Im in a really strong angst and sadstuck mood after seeing some headcanons and art and being in a Dia angst mood for a bit nowSo I hope those who enjoy pain then comfort enjoy.Italics are the dream
Relationships: Implied DirkJake - Relationship, Jake English/Dirk Strider, familial dirk and oc dia
Series: Homestuck au stories and shenanigans [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1554484
Comments: 1
Kudos: 2





	traumatic nightmares and the resulting bonding- an angsty dia strider short story

It was a dream. It had to be, she knew it had to be. It couldnt have been real. But yet it felt real. All too real.

She was being forced to stand there, standing and being held back in two different bruising grips. There room was crowded and yet felt completely isolating, pains and injuries she couldnt fully see throbbing harshly all over her body. And then shes being forced to move forward, thrusted to the front of the crowd and getting filled with anger, making her painfully thrash and struggle to break free and opening her mouth as she breaks to the front ready to yell, to scream, to curse. And then she sees the scene in front of her.

And all that anger turns to fear and dread pools heavy in her gut, eyes starting to burn as bile rises in her throat cutting off anything she mightve spoken.

The open arena like space is sickening to her, the King’s favorite torture and execution spot for its space and the way he can broadcast it like a damn show for all his sick followers to see. It was almost as bad as the Queen’s Culling grounds, maybe, even worse. 

And there closest to her, back to her was the bastard king himself, standing straight and proud and his enjoyment radiating off his figure, she can practically feel his malicious leer and it turns her defiance into panic the moment her eyes dart down.

At his feet is the face down body of a troll, a too familiar troll to Dia. A troll with messily cropped hair and chipped horns and punk style, royal blue blood pooled around him. The sight makes her jerk and almost gag seeing him, seeing him unmoving and beaten into a pulp after his disappearance. But blonde catches her eyes and they drag away to further up the floor.

And shes ready to puke as tears start falling, her gut and heart twisting and her body now thrashing harder at the sight of her brother Derik, her sweet baby brother Derik splayed on the unforgiving stone floor on his side. His body was bloody and bruised and unmoving, glasses splintered and eyes dull and glazed over as they stared at the crowd. She cried out his name and struggled but she still couldnt break free and run to him, run to attempt to treat the wound bleeding from his stomach no matter how futile that would be. Then her bleary gaze darts to the right and she jerks harder to break free, a mantra of whimpered no’s as she stares at the other blonde laying on the ground on his back.

Dave’s head was to the side facing her, blood streaking his face and dripping from his mouth, red blood pooling around his motionless body. His red knight clothing was stained a darker red in the center of the gear, the color spreading out across his chest like a disgusting flower blooming. His shades lay in three broken pieces a few inches away, eyes just as empty and dull as blood began staining his hair. 

Her eyes moved past the King’s figure and all the dread dropped further into her core at the sight of shattered apart shades, lightless and scattered across the one stone step to the main spot like morbid flower petals. She was shaking. This couldnt be happening. This couldnt be…c..couldnt…

Then her eyes lifted up.

And then theres screaming. Her screaming. Screaming that turned from pure anguish and terror to something desperate, animalistic, guttural and piercing.

She could see the looming figure of her father standing at the ready, uncaring.

And her screaming worsened seeing the other figure chained up to the Blood Wall, his body beaten and bloody and mostly limp.

She screamed and pleaded desperately seeing the blood soaking through the heart ensignia covered chest.

She thrashed and fought and sobbed horrified at the limply hanging blonde head, hair spotted with blood that stood stark in pale blonde hair.

She couldnt stop screaming his name at the sight of his staggered, heaved breathing that seemed to make Dirk’s whole body twitch painfully.

And then she saw her father’s claymore begin to lift to lay the finishing blow.

And for one moment, one painfully hopeful moment she broke free, and started running forward.

She ran past the bastard of a King, ran past the painful corpses, ran ran ran ran as fast as she could for that wall and for Dirk, screaming his name. 

For a moment things seemed to slow down as she got closer. She watched Dirk slowly raise his head with difficulty. For that one single moment there was a flutter of hope in her constricted chest when their eyes met. She sobbed out another scream of his name and lunged for him, dirty blood-smeared hand outstretched panickedly. 

And then her eyes widened when he gave her a strained smile. The same soothing, comforting smile that he gave her, whether it was after having a small feelings jam, her hanging out in his room watching him work, or the two of them messing around with light banter. She watched him smile and open his mouth to say something.

And then everything snapped back into full speed.

Thunk.

And her screams seemed to pierce and splinter the whole world around her as the claymore landed its blow seamlessly, and without falter as she watched the life leak out of his eyes. She couldnt save them. She couldnt save him. Suddenly she was grabbed by vicious hands as Dirk’s body was unchained and fell in a heap on the floor on his stomach, blood pooling. She was dragged closer as her hands her forced upwards as they moved.

And she knew she was next.

The moment Dia forcibly jerked awake she felt blind. The world was too bright and burned her pupils. Her body twitched and shook like a leaf in a harsh wind and she was thrashing. She couldnt hear anything at first aside from the muffle, erratic beating of her own heart and someone screaming. There was still screaming. Familiar screaming.

And then the muffled feeling faded a little and it registered somewhere in her frantic, confused mind that the screaming was familiar because it was hers. She was screaming her goddamn head off loud enough to almost hurt her own ears, a sound heartbroken and terrified and high pitched. Then over it she heard words, a voice.

And then her vision fully cleared and registered the surroundings of her room and a male figure above her. But it wasnt Dirk.

It was Jake English. 

She stared up at him like a cornered animal, confusion edging in with the guilt, terror, and quickly rising urge to vomit everything she ate. He stood over her, black hair mused from sleep and glasses askew as if hurriedly thrown on, bright green eyes wide with worry and filled with startled fear and sleepy concern. Why was Jake there? When did he

It wasnt Dirk.

Her heart thudded harder in fear as the single thought pierced through her. It wasnt Dirk where was Dirk why wasnt he here oh god no no no no no

Jake’s words barely registered even as his voice did, though he smartly didnt try to touch her he still tried to talk her down and calm her, hands out with his palms up. Her eyes darted around the room in a blind panic as her mind raced too fast for her to even keep up with anymore, chest constricting with fear and throat tight and burning as she didnt notice the hot wetness steaming down her cheeks. She looked up at Jake again and tried to speak but the only thing that came out was a hoarse high pitched whimper.

Then the next moment she heard his voice.

“ Dia?! Jesus christ kid what happened? Are you ok?? Jake what the fuck happened??” He eyes snapped to the doorway to see Dirk, a rapidly blinking and lit up Hal clutched tightly in his hand. His blonde hair was clean and rumpled from sleep, along with his not bloody clothes and eyes bright with life and considerably freaked out with concern. She felt her thoughts screech to a halt when she saw him.

Alive.

he was alive he was alive they were both alive alive alive they were alive–

Dirk hurried over to her and Jake made to move out of the way so her brother could be next to her, both worriedly watching the young adult’s trembling figure. The moment Dirk was close enough something snapped in Dia and fresh tears pooled in her eyes as she whimpered his name. As he tried to answer her she jolted forward desperately to him, hands grabbing and fisting the fabric of his tank top so tightly that it made her fingers sting. 

And then she went from a panic attack to a full breakdown, burying her face into Dirk’s chest as she starting sobbing. She heaved sobs of his name hard and grossly, the force of them wracking through her body visibly. At first it caught Dirk too off guard to react, Dia wasn’t a touchy person, nor was she a hug kinda person often. What snapped him out of it was when he felt her knees buckle and her body harshly shift as if about to crumble to the floor in a broken heap. 

The next thing she knew was that there were strong, warm arms wrapping around her. one arm wrapped around the middle of her back in a gentle but firm grip that stabilized her body and held her close, Hal’s cold form pressing soothingly against her overheated body. The other arm wrapped around her shoulders, his calloused hand cradling her head with fingers tangling in her hair. It was solid, real.

She felt his heart beat, heard it going steadily even if it was slowing down a little from the adrenaline. She felt his chest move with his calmed breathing and she clung to him even tighter, crying harder into his shirt and soaking it through, though he didnt seem to care. She felt grounded and secure and safe and she let her walls be shattered in that feeling as Dirk pressed his face into her hair and murmured to her. Soft, comforting words reminding her that it was just a dream, that she was safe, no one was hurt or tortured. 

It hadnt been real.

Dia wasnt sure how long they stood there, she just knew they stayed like that until the tears dried out and the sobs subsided, her breathing evening out into something more ordinary and her body didnt shake in his arms.They stayed like that until she didnt feel like she would fall apart on the floor if he pulled his supporting grip away. At some point she felt him running his fingers through her hair, relaxing her further. Eventually she shifted and they pulled apart, though Dirk kept his hands on her shoulders, leaning down and looking her over with concern. She sniffled and wiped at her runny nose, bloodshot eyes stinging from all her crying. Her throat stung too, like it was raw and sore and her stomach still felt like it was still twisted in a few knots. But she was clear minded, and calmer, so she considered it an improvement. 

“ …C’mon kid.” She let out a small startled noise when her vision dimmed as Dirk slipped Hal onto her, his chat log blowing up with questions for her and concern. It made her shoulders slump as she began trying to keep up and answer back as Dirk’s arm slipped around her shoulder and he gently guided her downstairs.

Jake had been sleeping over that night, she had completely forgotten in her panic attack. it was the first time he was sleeping at apartment and more importantly their first real sleepover without roxy or jane there as well. She remembered because they had to go food shopping earlier that day. 

She let Dirk guide her over to the blanket covered couch, which had been turned into a large unfolded bed big enough to fit four people, green and orange blankets kicked haphazardly over it, likely from the both being startled awake and moving quickly to check on her. The lights were still off but the tv across from the couch lit up the room well enough, the main screen on some movie displayed from behind the pile of Dvds and the bowl of left over popcorn kernels. ‘ They mustve just fallen asleep during their movie marathon….’ she thought absently as Dirk sat her down on the edge of the mattress, ruffling her hair. Jake wasnt in the room but the kitchen light flicked on and shuffling could be heard. She heard Dirk say something about being right back before he shuffled off for the sound and she tried to smile at him, pulling her knees to her chest tightly. 

‘ Dia are you sure youre better now?’ Her eyes focused more on her talk with Hal, and one hand reached up to slightly grip one side of the shades as if to assure they were still there, nodding a little.

‘ I…i think I am…m…my stomach still feels like shit and my throat is still burning…but other than that I think I’m ok…” 

‘ hmm…I’m not sure what could help fix the issues with your stomach, but for your throat maybe Jake could make you some tea if he isnt doing that on his own already. Or I believe we still have medicine too if nothing else. But are you sure youre ok? I can also contact any of your friends if you need me to, if thatll make you more comfortable.’ Dia couldnt help but smile softly at him, visibly grateful even as she shook her head with a sniffle.

‘ Thank you Hal, thats really sweet of you. But you dont need to wake them up for me…but I appreciate it. You Dirk an Jake are enough for me to feel better. and when Dirk comes back in her I’ll ask him about having some tea ok?’ Her chin ended up resting on her knees as she asked him what time it was, not straining to see the clock across the room.

‘ Its about 3: 15 in the morning Dia. And already, whatever you say. If it ever changes just let me know ok?’ She told him she would and after a moment asked for a small distraction, watching his fill the screen with words she didnt have to fully read. She could hear the other two talking quietly in the kitchen but decided against eavesdropping this time with a shiver. She got up on shaky legs and walked over to the wall and cranked the heater up on a low medium to get it to kick on, sighing and plopping back into her spot heavily as its lazy hum echoed in the vents. Eventually Dirk came out with a large mug of something steaming and she looked up at him questioningly. He smiled and set it in her hands as he sat next to her, and for a moment she felt guilty watching his tiredly drag his hands over his face. But then he looked back at you and smiled, making her smile back as she sipped her drink, flexing her fingers around the warmth.

“ mmm….hang on…is this…?” 

“ Spiced cider with a spot of honey kiddo, my gram’s recipe for dealing with nightmares. Hope you like it…its only my second time making it.” She looked up at Jake and nodded as she took another sip, relaxing at his cheerful smile as he sat on her other side. The two of them talked about off topic things over her, Jake eventually pestering Dirk into changing to a different movie and to putting it on to watch so they werent just in silence. He only won that because Dia agreed with him, nodding along and poking Dirk with her foot until he gave in with a grumble. 

It was there as the movie droned on that the memories of the nightmare faded away. So comfortable and relaxed she leaned into the knitted blanket wrapped around her, her new favorite blanket as she nestled comfortably into her spot between the two, leaning against Dirk’s shoulder a little. Dia smiled and gently pulled off Hal when he eventually put himself to sleep and set him close by to make sure he didnt accidentally get smashed one way or another. She couldnt help her yawn as she drifted back off, slumping further onto Dirk and falling asleep to the comforting sounds of Jake’s soft laughter and the two’s lighthearted discussions and banter about the movie. She felt secure, safe.

And she didnt have anymore nightmares the rest of the night.

the end.

**Author's Note:**

> Tadaa! I hope you guys like my attempt at some sadstuck and my angst. this really helped me get the mood out. Now to work on some softer things.


End file.
